Jaundiced
by Owliness
Summary: Naruto is sad, and Sasuke is curious as to why. Not yaoi, just friendship. One Shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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><p>Jaundiced (JAWN-dist) <em>adj<em>

1. Affected with or exhibiting prejudice, as from envy or resentment.  
>2. Affected with or colored by or as if by jaundice; yellowed. <p>

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><p>Naruto was sad. His grin was still as big as ever, and he was still fighting with Sasuke while they practiced throwing kunai, but inside he was in turmoil. And Team 7 could all see it.<p>

So when Kakashi looked up from his book and told them to go home, Sasuke didn't object when their sensei motioned for him to remain with the blond. Sakura got the hint also, she said her goodbye and left to see Ino. It brought Naruto out of his stupor long enough to wave and say goodbye, but he went back to staring at nothing when she was gone. Kakashi just said "bye," and disappeared in his trademark puff of smoke, leaving the boys alone in the clearing.

"Oi, dobe"

"What?"

"Walk with me"

Naruto nodded, and they began to make their way through the busy streets of Konoha. The hyperactive blond didn't say anything which was a worry in itself. Even when he was sad he was normally making plenty of noise. Sasuke let him take his time though, choosing instead to watch the villagers around him.

The Uchiha prided himself on his observation skills, so it would have been an insult to even suggest that he failed to notice the hateful stares directed to his teammate. Naruto it seemed, had noticed them too and almost unnoticeably tensed and drew slightly closer to Sasuke, who stiffened in response. This subtle sign was one they had developed on missions, meaning 'danger, be prepared to fight.' But what could have triggered it within the relative safety of the village walls?

Sasuke didn't say anything, but felt a surge of anger pass through his body. He wondered why Naruto was so happy all the time when this was what he had to put up with all his life.

They remained silent for the journey to Naruto's apartment, but when the blond turned to go home he found his path blocked.

"What are you doing Sasuke?"

"There's something wrong. Talk"

Naruto frowned. Since when did the ice-prince care about him? He considered his teammate his friend but didn't know if Sasuke felt the same. They were more rivals then anything.

"Can we go inside?" He asked. Sasuke nodded, and stepped aside to allow Naruto to open the door. When he did, Sasuke was surprised. He had been to the apartment before, and usually it was a mess, with scrolls, clothes and empty ramen cups spread everywhere. Today however, it was close to spotless.

They removed their shoes and Naruto collapsed on the couch, while his teammate chose to remain standing, leaning against the wall instead.

"So why the sudden change in cleanliness?" While he didn't let it show, he was really curious. In all the time they had known each other, he had never seen the room even remotely tidy.

"I couldn't sleep last night. I was cleaning for something to do" answered Naruto. It was a very out of character thing for him to do, and Sasuke was immediately suspicious. There must be more to it than that.

"Hn"

The blond sprawled on the couch rolled his eyes. "If that meant _– I don't believe you, what else - _Than that's it."

"It did. You don't have trouble sleeping, and you've been sad lately. What's wrong?" This was beginning to annoy the Uchiha, normally the dobe never shut up, and now that he wanted him to talk he had to drag every word out of his mouth. Typical.

Evidently Naruto had picked up on his annoyance, because he seemed to flinch slightly. "I have been having trouble sleeping, but there's nothing wrong." The sentence was mumbled, but Sasuke's sharp ears picked up the words. He frowned. Seeing the happy-go-lucky teen like this was troubling. Usually everything seemed to roll off his orange-clad shoulders.

"Is it the villagers?"

His shoulders tensed and his hands clenched into fists, giving Sasuke all the confirmation he needed. However when he spoke his voice was calm.

"What makes you say that?"

A sigh. "I'm not blind and I'm not stupid."

"I wonder if they even know my name" murmured Naruto. "I mean, they all hate me, but do they actually know who I am, or are they just listening to the rumours?"

Sasuke didn't know how to reply to that, but it was obvious he needed to do something. Naruto was fiddling with a bit of frayed cloth on his sleeve and refusing to look at anything but the orange fabric. The raven-haired teen pulled himself away from the wall and walked over to his teammate.

"Move up"

Naruto looked startled, as he hadn't heard Sasuke move from his spot. But he complied anyway, moving so the other boy had room to sit. He wasn't sure why, Sasuke rarely wanted to be near anyone unless it was in a battle. Even then he preferred long-distance attacks. So the prevailing emotion was shock when he felt Sasuke's arms around him.

Sasuke was a bit surprised at his own actions, but he knew it was the right one when he felt the smaller boy relax and hug him back. They didn't know how long they stayed like that for, it could have been seconds or it could have been hours, but when they broke apart Naruto was smiling, and this time it wasn't forced.

They sat side by side on the small couch, enjoying the rare moment of peace.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn"

"Thank you"

Sasuke smiled a bit, but he didn't know if Naruto saw. It seemed that he had, because he felt his body shift slightly closer to Sasuke. He didn't mind. Sometimes it was nice just to be close to someone without trying to kill each other.

_Click_

They both jumped at the sound, kunai appearing in their hands only to see their teacher crouched on the window ledge with a camera in hand.

"I thought that deserved a picture"

The teammates exchanged a glance, and a moment later the kunai's were lodged in the wall next to the silver-haired jōnin's head.

"Eeep"

The serene moment was pushed out of their minds in the resulting chase over the rooftops. By the time the sun went down the rest of the Rookie Nine and their sensei's, along with Rock Lee and Gai were involved. Unfortunately for Naruto and Sasuke, most of them were helping Kakashi, and eventually they had to admit defeat. The two shinobi were sitting among the roofs in the Uchiha district, panting slightly from the running. Well, Sasuke was breathing heavily – Uchihas do not pant.

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><p>Naruto was muttering death threats under his breath like he had been for the past hour. Sasuke had to give him points for creativity, even if dropping him off the Hokage mountain into a pool of carnivorous fish was practically impossible.<p>

"Do we just let him go? People are starting to wonder about the random fights we've had…"

It was a good point, thought Sasuke. Although someone had probably heard Naruto's yelling about cameras and pictures in every other fight. Or about how they were not 'youthful' like Lee had said. That section of forest would probably never be the same again. No one had been hurt though, apart from bruises and small cuts.

"So…" prompted Naruto.

"Maybe…"

_Click_

He was so dead.

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><p><strong>AN: So I wrote this ages ago, for a fan-fiction competition I think. I also can't write anything for my other story today, so I posted this. It's not Sasunaru, although if that's how you want to take it then you can. They're just really good friends in this. I don't know when it happens though ^.^**

**Feedback is always appreciated.**


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